Chili Verde

Paleo Chili Verde

Have you ever cooked with tomatillos? I hadn’t until after we moved Stateside, I’d heard of them but I don’t believe I’d ever seen one in the UK.

They look a lot like green tomatoes but they come with a paper husk around them, I’ve been able to find them easily in my local grocery store near my home in Mississippi.

They hail from Mexico and are a staple part of the cuisine there, I think they are also used a lot for salsa verde but I’ve yet to use them for that. Anyway, they make a fantastic sauce for this tasty paleo chili verde.

This recipe is made with country style pork ribs cut into pieces.

You could take a pork shoulder and cut it up and that’s what a lot of similar recipes use, but y’all I’m just too tired to start chopping huge chunks of meat so I chose boneless country style ribs instead and they worked really well.

I think using a cut of pork with some fat on it is really key to getting fall apart tender chunks of meat that are not dry. If you are counting calories then by all means use a pork tenderloin and adjust the cooking time down, but it won’t be quite the same.

Anyway, read on for a few step by step directions in order to make the sauce.

You will need to roast the Anaheim Peppers over a gas flame (pic 1.) to blacken the skin like you see in the image above. if you don’t have a gas stove then you can do this under the broiler. You want the skin to blacken and blister like you see in the image, use tongs to keep turning it like that a few times. Once blackened you can put them in a bowl with cling wrap over the top of the bowl and the steam will help the blackened skin to peel off. Once you have peeled them remove the seeds and stem and add them to your food processor or blender.

Peel the tomatillos and if they are sticky you can rinse each one a little bit. Half the tomatillos and place them into a large bowl with the onion slices and garlic, toss with about a tablespoon of olive oil so that they are coated and place on a baking sheet (pic 2.) I lined mine with parchment for easy clean up and so that they don’t stick.

cook under the broiler for ten minutes or more until they get a little toasted on top (pic 3.) you will need to watch closely so that they don’t burn, you don’t want them blackened like the chili! Add the broiled tomatillos, onions and garlic into your food processor or blender with the peeled and chopped Anaheim peppers and blend to make the chili verde sauce. You’ll find the whole recipe and the rest of the directions further down the page.

As a Brit I prefer to serve my chili over rice but that probably isn’t authentic so you can serve it however you prefer.

When my kids hear the word ‘chili’ that inevitably means they’re going to slather the whole thing in shredded cheese and sour cream, but honestly I think this particular chili is better without all that added stuff.

It freezes really well and is great made the day before you plan to serve it to allow the flavors to develop.

Anaheim Pepper Substitutions for this Recipe

Anaheim Peppers are a regional variety of mild chili pepper that sometimes can be hard to find depending on where you live. Sometimes they are simply labeled ‘green chilies’, or New Mexico Peppers, though I understand that New Mexico Peppers are technically a different pepper altogether.

The best substitute for Anaheim Peppers would be Poblano Peppers, they are much more common in the grocery store and relatively easy to find, and have a similar taste and mild heat.

Poblanos look more like regular green Bell Peppers, but they have a much closer taste and mild heat levels to Anaheim Peppers, so that’s what I would look for.

Instructions

Roast the Anaheim peppers over an open flame on your gas stove (see photo) or on your grill, use tongs to turn them so that they blacken all over.

Once blackened you can put them in a bowl with cling wrap over the top of the bowl and the steam will help the blackened skin to peel off.

Once you have peeled them remove the seeds and stem and add them to your food processor or blender.

Peel the tomatillos and if they are sticky you can rinse each one a little bit.

Half the tomatillos and place them into a large bowl with the onion slices and garlic, toss with about a tablespoon of olive oil so that they are coated and place on a baking sheet. I lined mine with parchment for easy clean up and so that they don't stick.

cook under the broiler for ten minutes or more until they get a little toasted on top, you will need to watch closely so that they don't burn, you don't want them blackened like the chili!

Add the broiled tomatillos, onions and garlic into your food processor with the peeled and chopped Anaheim peppers and blend to make the sauce.

Preheat your oven to 325F

While the oven is warming cut the pork into small cubes and brown in batches in your dutch oven.

Once the meat has all been browned add it back to the pan with the chili verde sauce, chicken broth, salt, pepper and ancho chili powder.

Cook it covered in the oven at 325F for about 1.5 - 2hrs or until meat is tender.

I like to serve it with flatbread or over rice.

Recipe Notes

1. You will need a food processor or blender to puree the tomatillos for the sauce and you will also need a large oven proof heavy bottomed pan (like a Dutch Oven) to cook the chili in.2. This chile recipe is not particularly hot so if you want to make it hotter you could add a couple of seeded fresh Jalapenos (or hotter chilis if you're game!) to the food processor with the tomatillo sauce, or simply add some hot sauce or extra chili powder. My family will not eat it if it's very hot so my recipe reflects that.

3. ANAHEIM PEPPER SUBSTITUTIONS

Anaheim Peppers are regional and may not always be available in your area. Sometimes they are called New Mexico Peppers so you could look for those. Poblano peppers (they are long, skinny, and green) will work instead and they should be more widely available

Nutrition Facts

Easy Chile Verde {gluten free, paleo, whole30}

Amount Per Serving

Calories 709Calories from Fat 369

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 41g63%

Saturated Fat 8g40%

Cholesterol 252mg84%

Sodium 729mg30%

Potassium 1447mg41%

Total Carbohydrates 11g4%

Dietary Fiber 3g12%

Sugars 6g

Protein 68g136%

Vitamin A4.9%

Vitamin C20.2%

Calcium9.2%

Iron21.1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutritional information on Noshtastic is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.

Thank you Elaine, that’s super helpful! I sometimes wonder if we have the correctly labeled peppers here in the grocery stores and I know that we don’t often have the variety of peppers that you can find in some other states.

I had to substitute pasilla peppers for Anaheim, added one giant jalapeño and jut used regular chili powder, then cooked it for about 3 hours and this was so delicious! I served it over farro. So good. Will definitely make this again.